Pelagius
4th-century theologian, namesake of Pelagianism
b. c. 354 · d. c. 420
Pelagius was a Christian theologian known as an ascetic monk and promoting a system of doctrines which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius was accused of heresy at the Synod of Diospolis in 415 and his doctrines were harshly criticized by Augustine of Hippo, especially the Pelagian views about mankind's good nature and individual responsibility for choosing asceticism. Pelagius especially stressed the freedom of human will. Very little is known about the personal life and career of Pelagius, although he was thought to be of British-Celtic or possibly Romano-British origin and fluent in Latin before arriving in Rome and later North Africa.
Related people
- Caelestius teacher of · traditional
- Fastidius of Britain teacher of · traditional
Works
Events
Places
- Roman Britain birth
- Rome residence
- Palestine death
- Jerusalem residence
- Carthage residence
How we know
Recorded as a historical figure.
- Letters 1 claim — Pelagius teaches at Rome
- The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787) 1 claim — Council of Carthage (418)
What he held
- The will suffices without grace A man may keep the commandments of God by the strength of his own will, grace making obedience easier rather than possible.
In the disputes
- The Pelagian controversy How much a man can do unaided.